Give Me Some Water Off My Office Floor.... Sorry my column is soooooo late this week, but this has been the week from hell. Between the Mrs., work, kids, and the embarrassment of losing to South Dakota State last week…. The time or energy to write a column hasn’t been present. The Test…. Yes, I was truly embarrassed walking out of Coughlin-Alumni Saturday night. The Bison football team performed far below any expectations I had before the game. It’s not easy being a Bison fan in Jackland after a loss to South Dakota State, because most everyone I know down here in Watertown is a SDSU fan. Plus, it’s not easy losing to the Jacks when the South Dakota license plate on my truck reads… N-D-S-U!! It was supposed to be my time to rip SDSU fans. I was going to lay the smack on big time…. Disappointment all around. Bison stars…. I couldn’t think of many stars last week…. But one thing I do know is that the coaching staff did a lackluster job of making halftime or game-time adjustments last week. The Bison defense and offense were got with ‘a deer in the headlights’ look and couldn’t recover in time for a win. Maybe I’m a little harsh, but a lot of people, even Jacks fans, agree. The offensive coaching staff really needs to start stretching the field once again. A completion isn’t the ultimate success of a long pass play… Even if the pass is incomplete, the opposition defense must guard against it and may even take a man out of the box which benefits the Bison running game… At times, the Bison coaching staff gets way too conservative with the passing game. On a side note…. Southern Utah Head Coach Wes Meier on the Bison, “We get to go on the road again this week and play another quality team. North Dakota State runs the football very well but can pass too. They’re big across the front and they do a good job controlling the line of scrimmage. Defensively, their numbers are almost as good as Cal Poly’s. They’ve got some big, athletic players on that side of the ball and they’ve been very opportunistic.” So let’s take a quick glance at the next Bison opponent; the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. The Offense.... Base Offense: West Coast 3-Wide…. Leading the offensive attack is senior signal-caller Casey Rehrer (6-0 185 Sr Orem, Utah). Rehrer has thrown for 1291 yards, 4 interception, and 12 touchdowns in 2004, while completing 123 of 180 passes for a 68.3 completion percentage. He also has rushed 84 times for 298 yards and 1 touchdown. Leading the T-Birds ground attack is RB Ryan Filipe (5-11 180 Jr Taylorsville, Utah). Filipe has rushed the ball 53 times for 283 yards and 1 touchdown, while catching 16 passes for 159 yards. Topping the SUU receiving crew is WR A.J. Smith (6-0 185 Sr Lehi, Utah). In 2004, Smith has hauled in 44 passes for 408 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Southern Utah offense has averaged 127 yards on the ground and 265 yards through the air for an average total offense of 392 yards of total offense per game this season…. The Defense.... Base Defense: 4-3… On the defensive side of the ball, Southern Utah is led by OLB Nick DiPadova (6-0 205 Sr Woodland Hills, California). After the first 5 games of the 2004 season, DiPadova tops the T-Birds defense with 55 tackles, 7 tackle for loss, including 1 quarterback sack. The Southern Utah defense also features MLB Mike Overly (6-2 225 Sr Nampa, Idaho) 44 tackles, 6 for loss, including 2 quarterback sacks; FS Brandon Perkins (6-1 205 Jr Sandy, Utah) 30 tackles and 2 interceptions, and OLB Marques Harris (6-2 235 Sr Grand Junction, Colorado) 31 tackles, 7 for loss, including 3 sacks. For the year, the Thunderbirds defense has given up an average of 115 yards on the ground and 182 yards through the air per game. History.... This will be the first meeting between the Southern Utah and North Dakota State football teams…. Show Me the Keys.... * Again this week the Bison offensive line has a huge weight advantage…. This game should favor the Bison offense in a game of good ole’ smash mouth. The Bison must control the ball to keep it out of the T-Birds all-everything QB Casey Rehrer… * Bison QB Tony Stauss must stop doubting himself and just play the game. He has the talent but is often slow at reading coverages because he doesn’t trust his first instinct…. * Kick returner Shamen Washington needs to show his magic in the Fargodome once again…. * Sacks, interceptions, fumbles... Goal for takeaways this week? Three…. Three turnovers from the Bison defense equals a comfortable win this Saturday…. Six sacks means a Bison blowout…. * The Bison wide-outs must beat the man-to-man coverage of the T-Birds to force the Southern Utah coaching staff into zone coverage or a cover two variant…. Meaning the Bison tight ends may have a field day over the middle of the field…. * Score early! The Bison need to trust their instincts and athletic ability… Getting a quick lead is always devastating to opponents in the Fargodome. * The Bison linebackers must control the running attack…. Zimmerman and Mays will be very important in keeping Southern Utah QB Casey Rehrer from scrambling… Rehrer can definitely eat a defense alive with his scrambling ability. Zimmerman and Mays must shadow the T-Birds’ quarterback everywhere he goes…. * The Bison coaching staff needs to be reactive, as well as proactive…. The Bison coaching staff really needs to open the passing game up. I realize the Bison offense must take what the opposing defense offers, but at least stretch the field every once in a while…. Against SDSU, the coaching staff fell asleep…. * One word -- 'Consistency'.... from play to play; from game to game.... The Bison are struggling in this departmnent…. Jottings.... - The weight in the trenches: Offensive line: NDSU 301, Southern Utah 297 Defensive line: NDSU 268, Southern Utah 251 - Southern Utah will be NDSU’s first scholarship-granting home opponent of the season…. - Southern Utah University punter Trevor Ward was named the Great West Football Conference Special Teams player of the Week for his performance in the Thunderbirds’ 24-17 loss to Cal Poly last week. Ward pinned Cal Poly inside the 20-yard line with two punts and also booted punts of 55, 53, 50, 47, and 40 yards. - Southern Utah dominated the stat sheet against Cal Poly but sill wound up on the wrong end of the score, SUU had 386 yards of total offense to the Mustangs’ 248, had 24 first downs to Cal Poly’s 12, out-gained the CP on the ground 132-99 and through the air 254-149 and held a 31:25 to 28:35 edge in time of possession…. - 2004 Great West Conference Football Coaches Pre-season Poll: 1. Cal Poly 2. Northern Colorado 3. UC Davis 4. North Dakota State 5. Southern Utah 6. South Dakota State - Audio of Southern Utah football games is available on the internet free of charge… - Roger Thomas is a weenie.... Most of you probably don't know who this is anymore. Let's see if I can trigger some memories? He is an athletic director for a small time college in North Dakota.... - Next week the Bison host Cal Poly at the Fargodome…. Cal Poly is currently ranked #11 in the Bison Insider Top 20…. - Poll Watch: The Bison are currently ranked #30 by the Weekly Football Gazette, while Southern Utah is ranked #30....